Section 121260 Of Chapter 13. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (aids) Immunization From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 105. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 13.
121260
. The Legislature further finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The average cost per patient in the treatment of AIDS until
death is now one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000). It is
estimated that total costs including health care of the first 10,000
AIDS cases in the United States totaled more than six billion three
hundred million dollars ($6,300,000,000). By 1990, according to the
department, Californians will spend almost five billion dollars
($5,000,000,000) in medical costs alone in care and treatment of
30,000 AIDS patients, with no realistic hope for their remission or
cure. This cost does not include money spent on education, research,
and lost income.
(b) To date, the costs of caring for people with AIDS related
complex (ARC) has not been officially calculated. However, it is safe
to assume the costs are substantial over time. Experts fear that the
illnesses of ARC patients, although they may not be fatal, are
severe. For example, the virus invades the brain rendering the
patients incapable of caring for themselves. It is, therefore,
plausible that a percentage of ARC patients will need to be
institutionalized.
(c) The Legislature intends by this chapter to take uncommon
action to remove the impediments to the expeditious development of an
AIDS vaccine.
(d) It is further the intent of the Legislature to provide to any
person, whose injury is proximately caused by the use of the vaccine,
except to the extent the injuries are attributable to the
comparative negligence of the claimant in the use of the vaccine, all
of the following:
(1) Compensation for related medical costs associated with the
care and treatment of the injury.
(2) Compensation for the loss of any and all earnings caused by
the injury.
(3) Compensation for pain and suffering caused by the injury,
except that in no action shall the amount of damages for noneconomic
losses exceed five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($550,000).
(e) It is further the intent of the Legislature to establish the
AIDS Clinical Trials Testing Fund that will be available to not more
than three California manufacturers of an AIDS vaccine approved by
the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the department
pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 109875) of Division 104
for clinical trials with humans.
(f) The AIDS Vaccine Research and Development Advisory Committee
shall review requests from California manufacturers for funds from
the AIDS Clinical Trials Testing Fund and shall make recommendations
to the department regarding the award of funds, including the
appropriate amount of funding. The department, taking into
consideration the committee's recommendations, may allocate the funds
to the manufacturers specified in the protocol approved by the FDA
or the department pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 109875)
of Division 104 for administering the clinical trials.
(g) A California manufacturer seeking the approval of the FDA,
rather than the department, for administering clinical trials of an
AIDS vaccine may apply while FDA approval is pending to the AIDS
Vaccine Research and Development Advisory Committee for the committee'
s recommendation that the manufacturer receive funds from the AIDS
Clinical Trials Testing Fund upon FDA approval.